Where do I access estimated taxes for 2025?

[jm831]

Turbotax 2024 desktop Windows

I went through the entire program and finished my 2024 taxes. But nowhere can I find where TurboTax asks me whether to prepare my estimated Federal and State vouchers for 2025.

Search takes me to the 1040-es form, but not where it occurs in the Q&A part of the program.

In the Print Center, the 1040-es forms are blank!

What is going on?

How do I get TurboTax to calculate and prepare my estimated taxes for 2025. Both Federal and State.

[VolvoGirl]

You can just type W4 in the search box at the top of your return, click on Find. Then Click on Jump To and it will take you to the estimated tax payments section. Say no to changing your W-4 and the next screen will start the estimated taxes section.

OR go to
Federal Taxes or Personal (Home&Business version)
Other Tax Situations
Other Tax Forms
Form W-4 and Estimated Taxes - Click the Start or Update button

Say No to W4. When you get to the W4 and Estimated Taxes section, say you want to adjust your income to go though all the screens.

If you have the Desktop program you can do another test return, go up to File-New or save your return with another name to test in, go to File-Save As.

In Desktop there is also a What-If worksheet.

Go to Forms Mode, click Forms in the upper right or on the left for Mac. Then click Open Forms box in the top of the column on the left. Open the US listing of forms and towards the bottom find the What-if worksheet. It's right under Estimated Taxes.

[VolvoGirl]

WHAT I DO
If you have the Desktop program you can switch to Forms mode and fill them out there. But what I do is first fill out the What-If Worksheet to help estimate my income for 2025. To find the What-If Worksheet. Go to Forms Mode, click Forms in the upper right or on the left for Mac. Then click Open Forms box in the top of the column on the left. Open the US listing of forms and towards the bottom find the What-if worksheet. It's right under Estimated Taxes.

Or try…Go into Forms View. Once there, at the top of the left column, click on the icon for "Open Form". A popup window will appear. In the text line, type the word "what" without quotes. You should see "what-if worksheet" appear as a selection choice. Double-click it to launch the form.

I copy the 2024 amounts in column 1 to column 2 and override them with my new amounts. Click the box at the top of the column to use 2025 tax rates.

Then when you get your income, payments and taxes calculated go to the Est Tax Options worksheet and play with the options.

I update these sheets each quarter as I know how much my income is so far like interest and put in estimated totals for the year. I also print out my 1040ES estimates and state estimates without amounts. Then write the amount on it when I'm ready to mail it.

[jm831]

OK. Thanks to your replises that Federal Estimated Taxes problem is solved.

I have the same question for my Virginia state taxes.

Where do I get TurboTax to prepare Virginia state estimated taxes for 2025. I cannot find it.

Thanks.

[DawnC]

It is at the end of the Virginia state return interview.   See the screenshot below.  

Estimate next year's federal taxes

Estimate next year's state taxes

When you get to the screen below, click Start next to Make Estimated Payments for Next Year

[barbnich]

At first, I couldn't find a place to enter my own amounts for 2025 1040-ES.  There may be a way, but I couldn't find it.

   I discovered this for a work-around:  In the worksheet, x the box that says you want Turbo tax to print your estimates.  Fill in the worksheet so that the program calculates an amount for each of the quarters that you want to make an estimated payment.  Then go to the ES form, right-click over the amount.  A list of options will appear, choose "Override".  Then you can type in the amount you want.

[jm831]

The 'logical' place for TurboTax to ask about estimated taxes is where a typical person would think of it. That is after finishing the taxes and ready to file.

When TurboTax gets to the place to finally file your taxes (whether efile or print), TurboTax should ask the user 'do you want to calculate your estimated taxes for next year?'. That's the logical next step.

Also, it should not be hidden in the topic list but written as its own category 'ESTIMATED TAXES' in the section about final steps.

My 2 cents.

[barbnich]

Agreed.  While some people do not know, or want to calculate, the amount of estimated taxes for the next year, some of us want to be able to manually enter the amount of the payments.  The program should allow the user to easily do that by asking the question on the ES screen.  I used Lacerte (Intuit product) to prepare income tax returns for many years, but had forgotten that there was an "override" feature in Lacerte, and therefore, it would probably be available in Turbo Tax.  Just stumbled on finding that.  Again, program change would be great!     My 2 cents.  Barb

[jm831]

Thank you.

As a non expert I use TurboTax to calculate my next year's estimated payments to avoid underpayment penalties.

But, by the second half of the following year as I find out more of what my capital gains will really be for that year, I wish there was a simple tool to enter the real numbers and find out if I can reduce the final estimated payments.

Is there a tool that allows one to do that 'simply'?

[VolvoGirl · Accepted solution]

Go back into your return and update your income amounts.  See my 2nd post at the top.  Also for federal I don’t print them out.  I just write the amount I want to pay on the preprinted 1040ES slips the IRS sends me each year.  I just got 2025 package from the IRS today.   Then you can use the envelopes the IRS supplies.

[jm831]

One final comment.

Volvo girl has been extremely helpful.  Her instructions are clear and accurate. She should write a book.

[royper]

I have found a way to use 2024 (previous year as we are in 2025) Turbotax to get a rough idea of the estimated tax payments I need to make in 2025 (current year) to minimize my tax penalty when my 2025 income is expected to be UNEVEN.  I’m not sure, but I think that the 2025 estimated tax payments generated by ttax 2024 is based on the assumption that your total expected income in evenly distributed throughout the year, as does the IRA. This can lead to a large penalties if your income is significantly larger in certain quarters.  You can use also this when you expect to get 2025 W2 income together with uneven 1099 or other income.  This method presumes that tax rates will not drastically change from 2024 to 2025.  You are only looking for an estimate of possible penalties of +/- ~$100 in penalty.

If there is a simpler way, let me know and I’ll kick myself 😊.  If there is an issue with this method let me and others know.  As I finished this, I realize it’s too long and no one will likely read it!  I wanted to explain this to myself.

I do this because my projected (current year) 2025 income is a result of quarterly ROTH conversions that change depending on how my investments and market is doing.  I’m retired and need to convert as much of my IRA to ROTHs before 73 to minimize taxes from RMDs. 

There are three key steps:

1.  Using the step-by-step mode REPLACE ALL 2024 income in 2024 turbotax (previous year) with your EXPRECTED income for 2025 (current year).  I start with this as it has all my info but you can start a new 2024 return if you prefer. You can do this in the step-by-step mode by just replacing the 2024 income in the “wages and income section”.  You can use this method if you have W2, 1099 or interest and div income.  You are basically creating a MOCK 2025 tax return using the 2024 ttax program.
   
   
2. Add any 2025 data to the “Deductions and Credits”
   
   
3. After you do this the next key step is to use the step by step mode and go to the “other Tax situations”  -> “Additional Tax Payments” -> Underpayment penalties and hit update. At some point it will ask “Do you want to annualize your income?”
   
   
4. Answer yes.   When you go through this you MUST enter your total previous year 2024 tax, in the “2023 (previous year) Tax Liability” box. The 2023 year was entered automatically imported by TTax because you are using the 2024 ttax you filled out in 2025.   You want to use PREVIOUS year (2024) because you are faking the 2024 ttax program to estimate the penalties for the current year (2025) based on projected income.
5. I know, this can be confusing!   At least it was to me.
   
   
6. Next add your (previous year) 2024 adjusted year gross income in the “2023 AGI” box.  These two, total tax and AGI of from previous year (2024) is needed for the annualization calculations to determine the (current year) 2025 estimated tax payments to avoid penalties.
   
   
7. Answer yes to “do you want to annualize your income”
   
   
8. Next add your CUMULATIVE 2025 (not 2024) income for Q1, Q1+Q2, Q1+Q2+Q3 in the three input boxes under “Annualized AGI”.  The fourth box will already be filled in from the total 2025 PROJECTED income you added earlier.  The last box will automatically be Q1+Q2+Q3+Q4 income if you had added ALL PROJECTED 2025 income in the income section.  Note that IF you have steady w2, and interest income, etc., these also need to be cumulatively added in these boxes as they are generated PER QUARTER along with any 1099-misc income in each quarter.  THIS IS KEY. 
   
   
9. IMPORTANTLY, before you start determining your estimated taxes needed to avoid penalties in 2025, IF you have significant tax that you expect to be WITHHELD in the current (2025) year (e.g. from a W2) (BUT NOT PAID AS ESTIMATED PAYMENTS) then you will need to go directly to Form 2210 to add that. This HAS to be done in the form 2210 itself, using “view Forms” as I could not find a way to do this in step-by-step.
   
   
10. You may see forms 2210, 2210 Penalty and 2210AI forms listed under “forms in my return” in view form.  Form 2210AI will have the cumaltive income you added in the step-by-step and form “2210 penalty” will show any expected penalty.
    
    
11. Determine the projected CUMULATIVE quarterly tax you expect to be WITHHELD from any W2 income (you need to estimate these) AND check box D in Part II of the form 2210 in view forms.  You add this cumulative (WITHHELD only) tax to the boxes under “Part II, Line D - “Tax withheld Smart Worksheet”.  Any significant interest income from savings accounts and div, I typically estimate by dividing the expected totals by 4 (for 4 quarters) and add that those cumulatively to the boxes in this section.  This not 100% accurate but you are trying the get estimates for 2025 so it is OK.  I actually used this w2 and interest income estimation method in my actual 2024 ttax to determine my tax penalty using the  “annualization of income” method as I didn’t want to go through each quarter reports for the int and div.  Those were small anyway but we will see what the IRS thinks.
    
    
12. Continue and at “Conclusions” UNCHECK that box that says “Do not use the Annualize your income”  Not sure why this box is checked by default.
    
    
13. Add the date you expect to pay the your balance of taxes due (.e.g, 4/14/2025)
    
    
14. NOW FINALLY you are ready to determine your 2025 estimated taxes to pay in order to avoid or minimize penalties.  Note that your PROJECTED ESTIMATED (NOT withheld from e.g, W2) tax payments for 2025 that you guess need to be made are added in the “Tax Payments Worksheet” that you access via “View Forms” => “Tax Payments.”
    
    
15.   At this point, you will go through an iterative process whereby you enter various 2025 estimated tax payments AMOUNTS as well as WHEN you pay these with the objective of minimizing any penalty for late tax payments in 2025. Note that when you add your estimated tax payments, you will use dates using the dates 4/14/2024, 6/15,24,  9/14,2024 and 1/15/2025, even though you will actually be making these payments in 2025 and 2026.  I know it can be confusing!.   Note that I pay as late as possible but you can any dates before the quarterly deadlines.  The reason for these 2024 and 2025 dates are that s you using the 2024 program.  If you use the actual 2025 and 2026 payments you will be making the program will not know what to do.  Remember you are using the 2024 program!
    
    
16. Under “view forms” =>  “tax payments” enter any test estimated payments for 4/14/2024,  /14/2024, 6/15,24,  9/14,2024 and 1/15/2025 and look at the penalty in Form 2210, line 19 as you change the amounts and when you pay.  If the program is propagating properly, then as you play around with the possible projected payments on the various dates, the 2210 penalty Form will appear in the “Forms in My Return” column if there is a penalty and disappear when there is none.  If this is not happening, then you can look at line 19 in Form 2210.
    
    
17. That’s it!!!!   You will see that both the amounts AND when you make them matters in whether you will be assessed a penalty.  I look to minimize AND delay payments while keep the penalty below $100.  I’m expecting to make large estimated tax payments.  I figure delaying and getting a small penalty is better than paying upfront.  Remember, none of this illegal, you are just trying avoid a penalty and minimizing and delaying payments as much as possible.
    
    
18. You can also shoot for zero penalty.  Remember, these are estimates with an accuracy of +/- ~$100 as you are using 2024 Ttax to guess at 2025 penalties.  I found that if you are making large uneven quarterly ROTH conversions that this annualized method can save you hundreds or thousands of $ relative to using the default, non-annualized method the IRA uses. 
    
    
19. Good hunting!

[Peteheff1109]

Thank you! The method of following "Other tax situations" etc worked perfect for me. But as someone else in this thread pointed out, Turbo Tax should prompt you here automatically as one of the final steps - not just calculate est payments on its own and leave you wondering how it was calculated!